Planning for Growth – Reports
Ordinary Meeting - 12 February 2014
Referral
Comment
DEPI
No objection subject to conditions
CFA
No objection
Traffic Engineer (internal)
No objection
Drainage Engineer (internal)
No objection subject to conditions
Public Notification The application was advertised to the public by mail and an on-site notice. Twenty objections to the application were received. The objections principally focus on the issues of traffic and lot density. Other issues were also raised concerned with the streetscape of Plumridge Street and the site’s relationship with the Bendigo Creek. All these issues are discussed later in this report. A consultation meeting was held to discuss the grounds of objection. The meeting was attended by the permit applicant, the objectors and the Ward Councillors. As a result of the meeting the applicant revised the plan. The amended plan shows a reduction in the number of lots created by the subdivision from 19 lots to 17 lots and changes how the subdivision relates to Plumridge Street. None of the objections were withdrawn in response to the amended plan. Planning Assessment Will the subdivision cause traffic problems for the area? By far the greatest objection to the proposed subdivision concerns the issue of traffic. There are existing traffic problems in the area as stated by the objectors. Plumridge Street and Raglan Street experience traffic congestion during school drop-off and pick-up times. Many residents have difficulty leaving their driveway during those peak times. The presence of school children in the area raises particular safety concerns with anecdotal reports of near misses between pedestrians and cars in the area. The proposed subdivision is viewed as adding to these problems. There are undoubtedly traffic management issues that need to be resolved in the area. A solution to these traffic problems is to be found by examining the precinct as a whole, encompassing traffic patterns in Goynes Road, Napier Street and elsewhere. Understanding the school’s role in this traffic network is important too (eg. how will future enrolments in the school affect existing traffic conditions?). There is no value in looking to the current proposal to affect better traffic management for the area. Nor is it reasonable to quarantine the site from future development while solutions are found to long-standing traffic issues.
PAGE 64